Parsippany may sell ads on garbage trucks, water towers

Photo by Matt Huisman/for The Star-LedgerA tarp is installed on top of a Parsippany water tower to protect a regularly scheduled repainting job from the elements. The township could start selling ads on the tower to increase revenue.

PARSIPPANY--Concerned about next year’s budget, the township is looking to generate revenue by selling ad space on everything from water towers to garbage trucks.

Mayor James Barberio said the township is exploring how to generate revenue through advertising after the state cut the township’s aid from $5.7 million in 2009 and 2010 to $4.5 million in 2010 and 2011.

“Since the state is diverting money out of Parsippany, we have to find ways to bring money into the municipalities,” Barberio said. “We’re also trying to sell the naming rights to Smith Field.”

Located along Route 46, Smith Field has facilities for soccer, baseball, football, softball, tennis and is used for recreational league play from spring through late fall.

Barberio said he was unsure how much revenue the ads would generate, but hoped it would be enough to avoid furloughs and layoffs, which he said are a real possibility.

The mayor said that he doesn’t know if the township would have to hire an advertising agency or whether the township could produce the ads on its own.

Elsewhere around the state, some boards of education have given thought to the possibility of selling ads on school buses. State law prohibits such action, but a bill that passed unanimously in the Assembly and is currently awaiting the approval of the Senate Education Committee might change that.

Assemblywoman Joan Voss (D-Bergen), one of the primary sponsors of the bill, said she was approached by some of the boards of education about the possibility of turning school buses into moving billboards. If passed, the bill would give boards of education the option to sell ads on school buses. Voss said it’s up to the district where the ads will be placed and what the content of the ads will be. She added that it “cannot be anything controversial.”

“Everybody’s school district is hurting,” Voss said. “This is trying to give a little assistance to these districts.”

School bus advertisements are already allowed in many states, including Florida, Minnesota, Texas, Tennessee, Colorado and Arizona.